Albany leaders welcome "dream walkers" to Georgia

News release from the Albany Chamber of Commerce

The six young adults who crossed the border on foot from Florida to Georgia yesterday afternoon, as part of a four-month, 1500 mile pilgrimage from Miami to D.C. to call attention to the current crisis in their communities and the urgent need for a comprehensive immigration reform will be in Albany onMonday, February 15that 10:00 am to receive a very special community welcome from local leaders.

The Reverend Ezekiel Holly, vice president of the NAACP of Georgia will be among those offering words of welcome and support. "The NAACP is proud to offer our support of these brave students because we believe in the same dream that the Dream Walkers believe in," he said.

The nationally recognized "Trail of Dreams" aims to share the real life stories of the nation's newest arrivals and confront the myths and stereotypes of immigrants, both documented and undocumented.

Adelina Nicholls, Executive Director of the Georgia Latino Alliance of Human Rights (GLAHR) says she hopes the journey helps Georgians to better understand the realities behind those myths and stereotypes. "Our communities often find themselves discriminated against and blamed for the state's problems. We are parents, grandparents, students, workers, dreamers. We seek only that which is fair – the opportunity to work hard, to have a family, to go to school and church, to live with dignity and peaceful lives."

The "Dreamers" left Miami on the 1st of January. They will be welcomed throughout south Georgia in the towns of Cairo, Pelham, Bainbridge, Baconton, Tifton, and Albany where the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR), and local Latino and African American leaders have worked together to find them food, accommodations, and places to gather where the students can learn from and educate local communities.

"Not since the Civil Rights Movement has south Georgia seen a group of young adults engage in such a loving act of civil disobedience as the young men and women who will be passing through our streets this February" said Anton Flores, of the Alterna Community in LaGrange.

The Public Welcome to participate in the Trail of Dreams Welcome to Georgia, Monday, February 15, at 10:00am at the Albany Welcome Center – 112 N. Front Street, Albany, GA 31701.